I’ve always been a bit of a contrarian, so please forgive me. These questions may seem deliberately provocative, but they are not meant that way. Rather, they are issues that I wonder about and struggle with.

What got me thinking about some of these questions is this TED speech by Mike Rowe, host of Dirty Jobs. In it he deliberately challenges the assumption that safety should come first. Why not safety second, or even third? How do we know? On what basis do we make these decisions?

Is it good to question? I think so. Without questions, there is no new knowledge. Without questions, we don’t grow. That being said, most people are uncomfortable with questions that challenge the status quo. It’s hard work to think outside the box. That being said, here they are.

So I have a question for earth keepers. We all prefer organic food because of a commitment to reduced or minimal pesticide and fertilizer use. Is this the best way to steward the earth?

Maybe not. It may be that buying organic food will result in more land being cleared for farmland, and less land being left as natural habitat. Here’s why.

There are studies that demonstrate that organic farming is less productive than conventional farming, especially with certain staple foods like wheat. This means that to feed an equivalent number of people with organic food, we will need more land with organic food. If that is the case, than arguably I should not be buying organic food because that will increase the likelihood that, as organic food becomes more popular, natural habitat across the world will be converted into farm land.

In addition, in places like southern Ontario where conservation organizations are encouraging farmers to convert land to forest, they will have more difficulty doing so. As food prices increase, farmers will look at marginal farmland as an asset rather than a liability, so they will want to keep it as farmland or convert it back to farmland if it has been re-naturalized. This is especially the case now as new drought-tolerant varieties of corn and soybeans make dry land more accessible.

These issues will become especially challenging as earth’s population continues to grow, as is projected, to over 9 billion by 2050. We will need more food, not less, and preferably from less land, so that we can keep as much land as original habitat, if possible, or restore it to natural habitat.

So what’s the answer then? Should we eat conventional or organic food? I don’t know. However, I do know that it is important for us to understand the implications of our decisions. Let’s do our best, and with a prayer for wisdom, look for a good solution, realizing that there is no perfect solution. And be gracious to others who share our love for creation, no matter what their decisions may be.